BAHMULLER, PETERSON REACT TO RE-ELECTION
When the South Dakota Legislature convenes early next year for what will be its 100th consecutive lawmaking session, Jessica Bahmuller of Alexandria and Drew Peterson of Salem will once again take a seat in the House chamber.
Both were re-elected in a three-way District 19 race in the 2024 Primary Election held last week Tuesday, June 4. Bahmuller was the top vote-getter in the district that includes most of the Hutchinson and Bon Homme counties and portions of Bon Homme, Hanson and Turner counties, with 45% of the 4,843 votes cast.
The race between Peterson and challenger Steven Mettler of Menno was closer and wasn’t called by the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office until results from Bon Homme and Turner counties came in late last Tuesday night. Peterson finished with 30% of the vote while Mettler claimed 26%.
This will be Bahmuller’s and Peterson’s second two-year term in Pierre; both won election for the first time in the 2022 Primary over challenger Roger Hofer of Bridgewater and neither will be contested in the 2024 General Election.
“It’s an extreme honor to be elected in the first place, but then to be re-elected by people who appreciate what you’re doing means a lot to me,” said Bahmuller, who is the finance officer for the city of Alexandria, which is the Hanson County seat. “I feel like I am District 19. These are my people. I grew on the farm and was 4-H and FFA, we’re at baseball and football games together, we’re all small families and small businesses.
“I honestly don’t think I could represent another district as well,” she continued. “It’s all about the 24,143 people in this district.”
Bahmuller earned 2,165 of the 4,843 votes cast and carried all five counties that make up District 19.
For Peterson, a fifth-generation farmer and rancher from McCook County, he survived what was a close challenge from Mettler, a farmer from Hutchinson County. Mettler won both Hutchinson and Turner counties, but Peterson carried the other three to secure a 192-vote win.
“There was a very low turnout (17.09% statewide) which always creates some concern, but I do appreciate getting re-elected and look forward to continuing to serve our district,” said Peterson. “I take my job seriously and always try to do the right thing; that’s the only option for me. I’m going to do the right thing whether it’s easy or not. I don’t play games.”
To that end, Peterson said he was and is concerned about the campaign run by Mettler and some of the misinformation being shared.
“Different concepts were being thrown around and not all of them are accurate,” he said. “My opponent suggested I wasn’t for property rights and that’s absolutely not true. I got attacked negatively and that’s something I don’t do, and I don’t think the people in our district appreciate that.”
Peterson said he reached out to Mettler during the campaign “and he wouldn’t even talk to me. He hung up on me. They want to make us look bad — period. They don’t care about the facts or the truth.” And while Peterson survived, he noted that other good legislators across the state were defeated at the hands of similar campaign tactics.
“We lost a lot of good folks because of negative campaigning,” he said.
The other challenge Peterson faced during the campaign was a broken leg he endured after being trampled by a charging cow on his farm. The accident happened on April 17 and resulted in a vertical crack starting at the top of the tibia.
“I couldn’t go door to door; I couldn’t even drive,” he said. “But it could have been much worse; I could have been killed.”
Now, Peterson said he’s looking forward to taking a reasonable approach to governance back to Pierre.
“I stayed positive during my campaign and I’m going to continue to stay positive,” he said. “I may need to defend myself, but I know that I’m doing things for the right reasons, and I hope that everybody else in the district know that, too.”
And he takes his work as a representative of the district seriously.
“I was born and bred in District 19 and I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “We have a son who’s going to be coming up through the educational system; I’m working for all ages, of course, but we’re looking toward the future. We’re trying to leave South Dakota better than we found it. It’s an amazing state and such a beautiful place.”
As for Bahmuller, she’s excited to serve on the Capitol floor for what will be a milestone legislative session.
“It’s very overwhelming to think that this will be the 100th and I have the honor to be there,” she said. “I will serve to the best of my ability and I’m excited to see what they’re going to come up with and how they’re going to celebrate.”
District 19 is also represented by Sen. Kyle Schoenfish, a Republican from Scotland who has served in Pierre since 2013. While Schoenfish was not challenged in the primary, he will face a contest in the general election by Mike Miller, a farmer from Freeman who has filed a nominating petition as an independent.
